In Praise Of Shahn

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Barber's Violin Concerto is so pretty that you feel almost guilty enjoying it so much. Curiously, it's very beauty and simplicity caused the composer great difficulty. The performer who commissioned the work claimed that the first two movements were too easy, so Barber wrote a dazzling finale, which he then claimed was unplayable! It wasn't, of course, and the piece has been an international favorite ever since Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein demonstrated once and for all that it belongs squarely in the long line of great Romantic works for violin and orchestra. This classic performance has been newly remastered and sounds better than ever. The couplings are apt and interesting. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Adagio For Strings - Leonard Bernstein
I. Allegro - Isaac Stern
II. Andante - Isaac Stern
III. Presto In Moto - Isaac Stern
To Thee Old Cause - Harold Gomberg
Vigoroso - Leonard Bernstein
Lento (Bar 185) - Leonard Bernstein
The Unanswered Question - William Vacchiano
Molto Deliberato - Leonard Bernstein

Customer Reviews:

Classic Bernstein recordings of American music, in best sound.......2006-06-16

Sony's reissue machine tries to entice us to buy some classic Bernstein performances by giving us mid-price, excellent sound, and a jam-packed CD. As Mr. Richman notes below, the main part of this disc appeared in the Bernstein Century series, but two items have been added, Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Ives' Unanswered Question, both performed with all of Bernstein's infectious energy and insight.

I also give Sony the benefit of the doubt that their current DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology is a step ahead of the last improvement, 20-bit SBM (Super Bit Mapping) technology. Who knows for sure?

Anyway, Bernstein and Stern have never been bettered in their 1964 reading of the Barber Violin Concerto. Their secret is twofold: the superb orchestral playing by the NY Phil. at its height (Harold Gomberg's oboe solo that opens the slow movement couldn't be more tender), and Bernstein's unqiue ability to conduct American rhythms. He was both a jazz baby and a swing kid, and it shows even when he is handling the delicate tracery of the concerto's first movement. Stern keeps his tone relatively dry, which is also a good idea when the melody is this luscious.

Gomberg is back center stage for William Schuman's evocative 'To the Old Cause,' a combination of oboe concerto and brooding elegy for the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. A cultural era was ending, and Schuman gives dark, painful testimony to it. The same is true for the even darker, jagged 'In Praise of Ben Shahn,' with its rough-hewn brass interjections and turbulent unease. Schuman's idiom dates from the Forties and here is getting its last stand in a moving way.

Once you throw in the Copland and Ives fillers, the net result is a terrific 74 min. memento of Bernstein at his very best and a high-water mark in Aerican music.

Same as "Bernstein Century" Title.......2003-10-02

This recent Sony reissue of the music of American composers Samuel Barber and William Schuman is exactly the same as a CD featured in the "Bernstein Century" series. Included here are Leonard Bernstein and the NYPO's 1971 account of the "Adagio for Strings," 1964 recording of Barber's Violin Concerto, 1968 performance of Schuman's "To Thee Old Cause," and "In Praise of Shahn" from 1970. The music is terrific, but my reason for rewarding only four stars (other than being annoyed at Sony for investing so much energy in a straight reissue with new packaging when so many other classic recordings remain unissued) is this release is obviously aimed at casual fans looking for a good performance of the "Adagio." And boy will they be surprised by the dissonance of the Schuman pieces! This is another Sony reissue that leaves me scratching my head.

Barber: Adagio for Strings/Violin Concerto/Schuman: To Thee Old Cause/In Praise Of Shahn

Average customer rating:

Good Early Bernstein Interpretations Of American Music
VERY sloppy playing
Barber's Violin Concerto not up to today's standards...
Great cd, but still quite a bit of room for improvement
Barber works are great, but Schuman's music is incredible.

Barber: Adagio for Strings/Violin Concerto/Schuman: To Thee Old Cause/In Praise Of Shahn

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Overtures
Bernstein Century: Bach & Vivaldi:Concertos
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
The Bernstein Century - Beethoven: Symphony no 3 'Eroica' / Bernstein, New York PO

ASIN: B0000029XL
Release Date: 1997-10-28

Tracks:

Adagio For Strings: Molta Adagio
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 14: I. Allegro
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 14: II. Andante
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 14: III. Presto in moto
To Thee Old Cause
In Praise of Shahn: Vigoroso
In Praise of Shahn: Lento (Bar 185)

Amazon.com

Barber's Violin Concerto is so pretty that you feel almost guilty enjoying it so much. Curiously, it's very beauty and simplicity caused the composer great difficulty. The performer who commissioned the work claimed that the first two movements were too easy, so Barber wrote a dazzling finale, which he then claimed was unplayable! It wasn't, of course, and the piece has been an international favorite ever since Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein demonstrated once and for all that it belongs squarely in the long line of great Romantic works for violin and orchestra. This classic performance has been newly remastered and sounds better than ever. The couplings are apt and interesting. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Good Early Bernstein Interpretations Of American Music.......2003-09-05

This CD will most likely be of interest to those who collect historical recordings; of which the Isaac Stern performance of the Barber violin concerto will be most appealing. However, I believe the best performances are of Barber's Adagio for Strings and the lesser works of Schuman. Bernstein does a splendid job coaxing as much emotion as he can out of the New York Philharmonic's string sections in Barber's Adagio. The Barber concerto sounds okay, but I have not heard any of the more recent interpretations mentioned by other reviewers to state definitely whether this performance is vastly inferior to recent releases. Still, the sound quality of all these recordings sounds a bit dry by contemporary standards, even with the latest in digital-bit-imaging technology.

VERY sloppy playing.......2002-02-12

The music presented on this album is simply glorious. Barber's violin concerto and Adagio for Strings are both brilliantly written works (in many spots deceptively simple). In many respects Bernstein truly understands how the pieces are supposed to sound and feel. You can really sense the growing arc in the Adagio for Strings, as well as the dripping romanticism of the violin concerto.

However, it sounds as though he never actually rehearsed the pieces. The violin concerto's third movement is disappointing. Understood, it's an...athletic movement, to say the least, but that does not excuse Bernstein, NYP, and Stern for sounding as though they were sight-reading! In the Adagio for Strings, the climax is so poorly executed that it almost sends the entire piece crashing down - the strings do not function together.

It saddens me that Sony released this album, because I don't feel this does justice to Bernstein, Stern, the NYP or to Barber and Schumann. The music is glorious, and the performances sometimes prove it. But as a whole, I don't think it lives up to being what it should be.

Barber's Violin Concerto not up to today's standards..........2001-02-26

While it's true that this recording of Barber's Violin Concerto helped bring the work into the mainstream repertoire, several recent recordings are even better.

The first of these new recordings features Shaham accompanied by Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra. Shaham's performance is brash and VERY extrovert, bringing a sense of excitement to the music. Bell (accompanied by Zinman and the Baltimore) also plays the piece very well in his recording. Unlike Shaham, Bell's introvert performance brings out the more thoughtful and mystical qualities of the music. This approach also works well, and I actually prefer it to the Shaham. Oh, as a side note, Bell won the 1997 Gramophone Concerto Award (not the pointless Grammy, mind you) for this recording.

Finally, there is the new Hahn (accompanied by Wolff and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra) recording. Her approach is somewhere between the Shaham and the Bell. Generally, her playing is cooler and more aristocratic, which works very well in the first movement. In addition, her third movement is absolutely breathtaking. This is my favorite recording of the Barber Concerto, though others tend to prefer either the Bell or the Shaham for their more extreme interpretations.

In any case, these new recordings all surpass the old Stern recording in turns of technical prowess, lyricism, and recording quality. Buy the Stern for solely historic reasons.

Great cd, but still quite a bit of room for improvement.......2000-11-05

I enjoyed this cd very much. The violin concerto was played amazingly well and beautifully. However, the Barber Adagio I thought was not played well at all. I had to go back to check my cd to see if it really was the New York Philharmonic playing it. The orchestra was not always together, it sounded rushed, and sloppy. I have played the Barber Adagio, and quite frankly the small group that I played it in that was comprised of high schoolers played it much better.

Barber works are great, but Schuman's music is incredible........1999-10-13

This CD is a terrific opportunity to purchase Barber's famous "Adagio" and his Violin Concerto--with the duo of Bernstein and Isaac Stern, no less. But don't stop it after the Concerto: the best music is yet to come. William Schuman's startling and glorious works follow. Schuman's flair for the unconventional holds serve in "To Thee Old Cause" from 1968 and "In Praise of Shahn" from 1969. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic handle Schuman's long lyrical lines ("Old Cause") and unconventional rhythms ("Shahn") with jaw-dropping precision and power. It is Bernstein's great tribute to a great friend, and a must-buy for any Schuman enthusiast.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Mike Harrison [Import]

Piano Quintet in a Major

Precious Declaration [CD-single]

Midnight Mood: Live in Stockholm [Live]

Crossing The Line

Solid Soul, Vol. 7: Please Tell Me Why [Import]

Sondheim Songs

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet; Symphony/concerto for violoncello

Rock 'N' Roll

Puccini: Tosca [Import]